by David J. Stewart | April 2015
2nd Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
The Holy Bible is a book of promises from God. Our
text passage of Scripture from 2nd Peter 1:4 teaches that it is
through the promises of God that we are saved and our life is
transformed in Christ. The gift of eternal life is a conditional
promise from God to those who believe.
Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” God promises to save them that believe the Gospel. 1st Corinthians 1:21, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
Let's consider our text verse again. 2nd Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” What does it mean to become a “partaker of the divine nature”? Well, first of all, you must be born-again to have Christ's Holy Spirit in you.
The divine nature is the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9). This Scripture is not talking about the New Age teaching that man can ascend to godhood. As Christians we will never become God, but we have God's Spirit living in us. A mature Christian is like God in character, desire for truth, justice and love.
God Promised to Preserve His Pure Word Unto
Every Generation
Psalms 12:6-7, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as
silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou
shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve
them from this generation for ever.” Check out
how the
'Easy-To-Read' (ERV) corrupt Bible version totally butchered
this passage of Scripture, making God a liar.
I know churches that advertise “helping people develop a heart
for God,” but they use Satanic counterfeit Bible versions and
teach a false plan of Lordship Salvation. Do they really have a
heart for God? No, they have a heart for religion. Jesus plainly
told the Samaritan woman at the well that God can only be
worshipped in spirit and in truth. The King James Bible is
truth! The simplicity that is in Christ is truth. If you are
looking for a good church to attend, it is a deal-breaker if
they use modern corrupted Bible versions and teach that you must
forsake sinful living to be saved. You might as well join the
Roman Catholic religion or a Mormon cult. It matters which Bible
you use. Just by slightly rewording a passage of Scripture, the
meaning is 100% changed.
I only use the proven, time-tested and trustworthy King James
Bible.
Jesus said in Matthew 4:4 that man shall not live by bread
alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceedeth forth out of the mouth
of God. That means I need an every-word-Bible if I am to live by
every word of God. Since the New International Version (NIV) is
missing over 65,000 words as compared to the precious Authorized
King James Bible, there is a clear problem. Someone is lying.
Since the King James Bible has been around since the year 1611,
and has been proven by the greatest soul-winning pastors in
history, I'm not going to trade it in for a new perversion of
God's Word.
A sickening 20,562 Presbyterian ministers, most of whom use the
Revised Standard Version (RSV) and New Revised Standard Version
(NRSV), voted to approve of same-sex homosexual marriages in
March of 2015. GET RIGHT WITH GOD!!! Proverbs 28:4, “They that
forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law
contend with them.” It is no coincidence that
20,562 ministers in 10,083 Presbyterian churches are now
praising homosexual marriages, when they have forsaken the
pure words of God and are using Satanic counterfeit Bible
versions!!! Unholy Bibles lead to doctrinal corruption and
unholy living. That's why
5,100
American Baptist Convention churches are now supportive of AWAB
(The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists), a
pro-homosexual activist group trying to homosexualize Baptist
churches and Bible colleges. Long before AWAB came along, all
those Baptist churches sold-out the King James Bible in favor of
the modern perversions of
God's Word.
God's Promised to Save Them Who
Believe
the Gospel
Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that
through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive
remission of sins.” It matters what you believe
concerning the plan of salvation, because God only made one way
to Heaven, which is through faith in Christ. Jesus plainly told
Thomas that HE IS THE WAY!!! John 14:5-6, “Thomas saith unto
him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know
the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me.” So what is this crap being taught in many Baptist churches
today that says God won't save you unless you turn away from a
lifestyle of sin? That's not what Jesus taught. The Lord said He
is the way. You get saved and then God changes your life; you
don't change your life so that God will save you. If you hear a
pastor define “repentance” as forsaking sinful living... RUN
AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!!!!!
Here's
what Biblical repentance really means.
The gift of salvation is a promise from God. Here is a promise
from God... John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Eternal life is a promise from God to those who believe the
Gospel, that is, Christ died on the cross for our sins, was
buried and raised up the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
Hence, anyone can KNOW (beyond any shadow of a doubt) that they
are saved, simply by BELIEVING the Gospel, because God promised
in 1st Corinthians 1:21 to SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE!!! 1st
Corinthians 1:21, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world
by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe.”
This is God's only requirement to be saved, other than
admitting that you are a sinner. The Bible PROMISES salvation to
them that BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, Who died on the
cross for our sins and was raised-up from the dead the third day
(1st Thessalonians 4:14; 1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
It is through obedience to the promises of God that we are saved
and made Christlike. We are saved immediately by trusting
Christ, but then becoming Christlike takes a lifetime. It is
through claiming the promises of God that we are transformed.
Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.” Thank God for His exceedingly great and precious
promises, through which we are made more like Christ.
If you want to partake of the goodness of God and the blessings
in Christ, then obey God in His Word. I'm going to Heaven when I
die. Salvation is the gift of God, freely made available by the
precious blood of Jesus. But then as a Christian I'm labouring
diligently daily in prayer, working on my website ministries and
doing what I can to exemplify Christ in my life to help others.
God has promised great rewards and treasures in Heaven (Matthew
6:19-20; 1st Corinthians 3:7-8). I want to be like Jesus. I want
God's unconditional love to flow through me toward others. As I
study, memorize and abide in the Holy Scriptures, Christ is
being formed in me, through His Holy Spirit. God doesn't give me
the fruit of the Spirit to keep for myself; but rather, to give
to you. God gives me the fruit of the Spirit through you, and
you the fruit of the Spirit through me. God doesn't give us
love, patience, kindness, gentleness and generosity to benefit
us, but each other. That means if I don't walk in the Spirit, I
cannot help you. And if you don't walk in the Spirit, you cannot
help me in the Lord.
Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every
thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.”
The following quote is taken from the Introduction to Dr.
Herbert Lockyer's (1886-1984) timeless Christian classic
(published in 1962),
All The Promises Of The Bible...
“It has been computed that there are 30,000 Bible promises. No indication is given as to how this colossal number is reached. Altogether, there are 31,173 verses making up the Bible; 23,214 verses compromising the Old Testament, and 7,959 — the New Testament. Doubtless this total of verses gave rise to the 30,000 — every verse being a promise.
The magazine Time, of Dec. 4, 1956, carried an item to the effect that schoolteacher Everet R. Storms, of Kitchener, Canada, reckoned the 30,000 figure to be off the mark. During his 27th reading of the Bible, this devout student tried to tally up the promises, a task which took him a year and a half. Storms came up with 7,487 promises by God to man, 2 by God the Father to God the Son, 991 by one man to another (such as the servants who promised to interpret king Nebuchadnezzar's dream), 290 by man to God, 21 promises were made by angels, one by man to an angel, and two were made by an evil spirit to the Lord. Satan made nine, as when he promised the world to Christ if He would fall down and worship him. Storms then gives us the grant total of 8,810 promises.
Scattered throughout the Bible are hundreds of definite explicit promises forming the category Peter names as "the exceeding great and precious promises" (II Peter 1:4).”
SOURCE: Dr. Herbert Lockyer, All The Promises Of The Bible, p. 10; 1962
There are in fact
31,102 verses in the King James Bible! I don't know what
Bible Dr. Lockyer used (I hope a King James Bible), but
nevertheless, many websites are repeating faulty statistics. It
could likely be that he relied on faulty data. Nevertheless, the
subject at hand is the PROMISES OF GOD... Wow! 7,487 promises
made by God to man. Isn't God a good God!!! We are so
undeserving. God didn't have to make us even one promise, but He
did.
The
yet to be fulfilled prophecies must also be considered as
promises since God promised they would happen. What a wonderful
God that He would make so many promises to mankind. For those
who die in the Lord with their sins forgiven, these promises
mean a future of happiness and peace in eternity with the Lord;
but for the wicked, it means death in Hell, apart from God for
ever. The Bible declares that God keeps His promises (as read in
our Scripture above). We also read in Titus 1:2, "In hope of
eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the
world began." What a wonderful truth to know that God CANNOT
lie. God is Holy, that is, He is moral perfection.
The rainbow is often overlooked and misunderstood (Genesis
9:13-16). Yes, the rainbow is a token of God's promise to never
destroy the earth again by flood, but it is much more. The
rainbow is a constant reminder to mankind that God keeps ALL of
His many promises. God cannot lie! What a wonderful Saviour!
The greatest promise which God ever made to mankind is
salvation. Romans 10:13 is a promise from God to save ANYONE who
calls upon the name of Jesus Christ... "For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." God didn't say
"Maybe," He said SHALL! I've witnessed the Gospel to many people
who sincerely didn't know if they were going to Heaven, but they
wouldn't get saved either. They were blinded in the mind by
false religion, thinking that salvation is based upon merit.
The world is filled with professed Christians who are not
Christians at all. They follow the manmade doctrines of Roman
Catholicism or some other false religion, thinking that they
have to do their best to get to Heaven. The Truth from the Bible
is that good works is a sure road to Hell (Ephesians 2:8,9;
Titus 3:5). 1st John 5:13 plainly teaches that we can KNOW that
we are saved. We can know by simply admitting to God that we are
Hell-deserving sinners, and then coming to Jesus Christ (Who is
Almighty God) and asking Him to forgive us of our sins. Being
saved is about getting your sins forgiven, NOT having a
religious experience. Jesus died for your sins and paid for them
with His Own shed blood (Colossians 1:14). Simply look to Jesus
my friend and you will live (Isaiah 45:22). END
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering;
(for he is faithful that promised)” —Hebrews 10:23
“Nobody can
love God who doesn't love sinners!”
(a quote by Dr. Jack Hyles classic MP3
sermon, “The
Happiest Man” (happiest is the man who will not impute sin to others!)
